Dressing comfortably without sacrificing style

It might seem like every chictopia citizen here has days made of rainbows, awesomeness and unicorn tails, but sometimes we aren’t in the mood to look our best. Be it for any reason: laziness, heartache, depressing weather, cramps or simply the fact that all your nice clothes still need to be washed (actually, that sort of falls under “laziness”. Go do your laundry!), the outcome is always the same: we are tempted to reach for the simple solution. Everyone has their own fallback option, but most comfort cravings are satisfied by slacks, flipflops, old jeans, ratty Tees or a combination of the aforementioned solutions. But we here at chictopia wouldn’t be chictopia citizens if we’d let ourselves fall down like that. We are stylish at ANY occasion, even if the occasion is eating chips on the couch watching reruns of Melrose Place (srsly that show is addicting). So here are some tips on how to dress comfortably whithout sacrificing your sense of style!

1: LEGGINGS!: Once considered a fashion faux pas, now widely accepted as an alternative for pants (yes Lindsay, we have you to thank for this). Most leggings still have me shudder at the idea of wearing them without a top that covers your bum, but leggings as pants really do have their place in the world: for starters, they are a gazillion times more comfy than a pair of jeans, no matter how worn in the pair of jeans is. Leggings have an elasticated waistband and are stretchy and soft all over. Can’t beat that. Secondly, leggings are starting to look more and more like an actual alternative to pants. Gone are the days when leggings were basically tights without feet: leggings have their own looks now. I myself swear by jeggings after being appaled by the idea of wearing Axl Rose type sprayed on jeans for seasons. It suddenly occured to me: these look like perfectly fitting skinny jeans, but they are comfortable like pajamas: what’s not to like? So there, jeggings are my thing now. But there are lots of awesome leggings out there. We all own a pair of liquid leggings (worn perfectly comfy by our own barkatt) by now, but the ones Viktoria is wearing are even more awesome: leggings with leather inserts! The entire outfit is very fitting for my post, as it brings me to my next tip:

2: LAYERING!: Yes, we all know that layering paves the path to styling heaven. After all, is there any better way for us to show our own views and style when donning an outfit? One piece of clothing could be used entirely different by two people if they layer appropriately. Apart from that, layering is THE best way to adapt to temperature shifts. Which comes in handy with the global climate change and all, but on a smaller scale: in spring and fall. Take a layer off, put another layer on, the possibilities are endless and you look so much more street when you wear some layers. Don’t get me wrong, I love a simple look, but layers always take things up a notch. Hawaiikidd shows us how it’s done! And once again, this look brings me to my next piece of advice:

3: LOOSE TOPS!: Loose tops, either boxy or drapey depending on your own taste and shape and preferably with a cute print, really are the ultimate key to comfort dressing. After all you COULD wear a tight, stretchy top and be quite comfortable, but we all know that most tight, stretchy tops end up causing you to sweat. And sweating isn’t comfy nor stylish, so out with tight and stretchy on top. Scarlet_Sky wears her oversized, borrowed top with some over knee socks which is absolutely comfy and perfect for hanging around to house if you wear some comfy shorts underneath, and if you plan on going out and you aren’t comfortable with people thinking you forgot to wear pants: swap the socks for leggings and you’ll be fine. As for shoes:

4: LEAVE YOUR HEELS AT HOME!: We all love our heels. They make us look tall and svelte and they are just utterly irresistible in any way, shape or form, but no matter what some girls want to make you believe: heels will never be as comfortable as flat shoes. So if you’re in your comfy mood and you need to go out to buy another pack of chips or to rent another season of Melrose Place: just put on some comfy flats. Boots look extra nice with the leggings you’d already be wearing by now if you had been following my tips. Prettyshinysparkly shows us how comfy boots can make an outfit look less casual: just imagine her cute look worn with flipflops. Not nearly as nice, right? She’s also wearing an oversized top and those skinny jeans could easily be replaced by jeggings. She’s got it all going on: copy that look! Maiu_bcn skipped the leggings part and just wore a loose fitting dress which basically falls under my loose tops advice, and she threw on an oversized coat and some cute flats to go out for a little daytrip. Trips and travelling are another reason to want to stay comfy, and her look is the perfect way to do just that for the more girly girl out there: comfy little dress, a rugged coat for a bit of of contrast and cute flats for all the walking you’ll be doing. Dresses bring me to my very last tip:

5: LIVING SOMEWHERE WARM? THE AIRY MAXI IS YOUR FRIEND!: Can you tell I was sort of struggling to find another way to start this tip with an L? Just a little. But here’s my point: maxis in the lightest possible fabric are the very best way to feel like you’re not actually wearing anything at all. And what is more comfortable than to feel naked when the temperatures have your make up melting? Nothing, right? So take a cue from tom_star- and put on a light maxi dress if you want to keep it stylin’ and still be comfy. The best thing about maxis is that they come in a lot of different styles: you could look grungy, romantic or boho and in every case you’d be feeling as comfortable as if you’d be wearing your nightgown. Rad, right?

Hope this helped someone!

THE STYLING DUTCHMAN

(PS I’m superfrigginexcited about being a contributing editor. This is AWESUM)